Life is Hard, Money is Not Easy to Earn

Fang Bai heard the rooster crow in a daze, saw that the sky was still dark, and went back to sleep.

After who knows how long, the sky gradually brightened, and morning light spilled over the quiet village.

As soon as it was light, Fang Bai's eyes naturally opened. He got up and stretched.

He brushed his teeth and rinsed his mouth unhurriedly; the cold well water instantly perked him up.

Opening the pressure cooker, he found white rice porridge still warm, just right with pickled vegetables. Fang Bai felt it was nice—no rush for breakfast, which was rare.

The hot porridge warmed his stomach.

He checked the time—past eight in the morning. His parents were already gone, likely out the door. His father was probably doing odd jobs, and his mother had ridden her bike to take his younger sister back to school. Saving a bit on bus fare was a good thing.

Fang Bai memorized some English phrases for a while, then tied the luggage he'd packed last night onto his bike rack before riding off.

He was racing against time to study. If he didn't get into his ideal key university next year, he'd have to repeat another year—something he definitely didn't want.

So, before the college entrance exam, studying came first, making money second.

After the exam, he'd focus on earning money.

Of course, he couldn't miss opportunities to make money either. He had to save enough startup capital by the end of next year, or he'd miss his chance at big earnings.

Half an hour later, Fang Bai arrived at his rented place and put his bundle on the second floor.

Riding a bike had its downsides—bad roads and a bit of wind kicked up yellow dust, coating him in grime.

He was used to driving cars in his past life; not having one was really inconvenient.

He hadn't ridden a bike in a long time. Yesterday, it felt fresh, but today it was pure misery—the base of his tailbone was chafing and sore from the friction.

Fang Bai brushed the dust off himself, then went to the bank to queue for a withdrawal before heading back to Hengli Company.

He handed Wang Hengli three thousand yuan and signed the transaction contract.

"Manager Wang, I'll need you to arrange a forklift to deliver the equipment to my place. It's nearby, just use your company's five-ton forklift," Fang Bai said, having planned ahead. The equipment weighed 3.5 tons net and wasn't disassembled into parts—taking it apart would make it a pain for him to reassemble.

His rental didn't have a five-ton overhead crane, and transporting it by truck without a forklift to unload would be a nightmare. He'd have to rent one temporarily, another expense.

If he didn't move the equipment and just repaired it on-site, Wang Hengli and the workshop workers would see how he fixed it, and Fang Bai didn't want that.

Once the equipment was moved, if he couldn't get the price he wanted from Wang Hengli, he could sell it to someone else.

Of course, moving the equipment was a hassle.

"No problem. I'll tell the factory manager. You're not planning to come work here? Sales can be pretty lucrative," Wang Hengli said, still valuing Fang Bai as a sharp young guy.

"Thanks for the offer, Manager Wang, but I have other plans lately," Fang Bai replied. He'd considered sales with commission—hard for most, but not for him with his Golden Finger. It was just a matter of how much he'd earn.

Still, he didn't want to work for someone else.

Besides, small orders didn't pay much commission.

And huge orders wouldn't come to him anyway, so that path wasn't a fit.

"Alright, you're welcome anytime if you change your mind."

"Manager Wang, have you ordered the new equipment yet?"

"Not yet. New equipment is hard to get now, and the wait is long. It's a real headache."

They walked and talked, arriving at the workshop office on the first floor. Wang Hengli gave instructions to the factory manager, Ma Jingsen, to arrange a vehicle for the equipment delivery, then left.

A dozen minutes later, the five-ton forklift pulled up next to the drill press. Fang Bai adjusted the fork spacing himself before letting the forklift operator lift the equipment. Once it was up, he tied a sling around the top to keep it from tipping.

Normally, lifting had a slight tilt angle, and experienced drivers reversed on downhill slopes. Fang Bai was worried the forklift driver might lack experience, and the distance wasn't short—if the equipment fell mid-transport, it'd be damaged.

The onlookers thought Fang Bai's strapping was overkill, but he felt it was necessary. The equipment was his, and if it broke, his three-thousand-yuan investment would be wasted.

After checking transport safety, Fang Bai spotted drill bits, adjustable wrenches, pliers, and hex wrenches near the drill press workstation. He eyed them, hoping to snag them.

Without tools, he'd have to spend another few dozen yuan on a set, or he couldn't disassemble or reassemble the equipment.

"Manager Ma, there's a set of drill bits and repair tools here that go with it. Help me load them up."

Ma Jingsen's eyes widened. "Buying equipment comes with drill bits and tools?"

"Why don't you ask Manager Wang? Some of these tools were originally bundled with this machine. I'm not asking for extras."

Ma Jingsen hesitated, then nodded in agreement. It really wasn't worth much.

Fang Bai picked the newest set of drill bits and tools himself, tossed them onto the forklift, then told the operator to drive. He led the way on his bike.

Once out of the factory gate, Fang Bai handed the forklift driver a pack of Qingliangtai cigarettes and asked him to take it easy—some roads were rough.

Fang Bai had told Wang Hengli the place was nearby, but it was actually two or three kilometers away. For a slow forklift carrying equipment, that was a long haul. If Wang Hengli knew, he'd probably complain.

The driver, happy with the cigarettes, drove cheerfully. The distance was a bit far, but the smokes made it worth it—this was the boss's order, and it wasn't his fuel.

Besides, it was Sunday, so the morning was slow, and the afternoon was off.

About ten minutes later, the forklift finally reached Fang Bai's rented place.

Fang Bai opened the door and had the driver place the equipment in the designated spot, convenient for plugging in and repairing.

"Boss Fang, if there's nothing else, I'll head out."

"Yeah, nothing else."

"Okay, see you."

"Yeah, maybe we'll meet again soon, haha."

The forklift driver didn't get what Fang Bai meant by that. He waved at him, started the forklift, and drove back to the company with one hand on the wheel and the other holding a cigarette.

Next, Fang Bai connected the wires, powered it on to confirm the equipment was fine, then shut it off.

By the time he finished all that, the whole morning was gone.

He had lunch, rested a bit, then went out to buy the parts and tools he needed for maintenance.

In Wen City, you could still find equipment parts.

If he were in a central or western city, finding the right bearing back in this era would've been a real pain.

Mechanical manufacturing was pretty backward back then. Even standard bearings weren't cheap.

Fang Bai wasn't afraid of high prices—he was afraid of not finding what he needed.

Eventually, he found the right 6008 Deep Groove Ball Bearing at a shop called Duoduo Hardware Store. After haggling with the owner, he bought a set for 45 yuan.

At another shop, he picked up a 5-liter bucket of No. 46 anti-wear hydraulic oil for 14.5 yuan.

He rode his bike back to the rental, changed clothes, put on rubber gloves, and started by replacing the hydraulic oil.

After about ten minutes, the oil was changed, and he began disassembling the faulty parts.

His right hand wasn't strong enough for the work. Before he even finished taking things apart, he was drenched in sweat, and his hands and clothes were smeared with oil.

By four in the afternoon, he'd finally removed the bearing and shaft from the equipment.

"Damn, this money isn't easy to earn. I'm exhausted!"

Fang Bai looked at his hands, both covered in black grease—especially under his nails, which would be a pain to clean—and let out a sigh.

He sat on the concrete floor with his knees bent, resting, staring at the results on the ground.

The bearing and shaft were an interference fit (no gap), so getting the bearing off the shaft was a real hassle. Fang Bai didn't have a bearing puller. His only tools were a wrench and a hammer. If someone who didn't know machinery tried to smash it off, they'd scratch the shaft surface, and the shaft would be ruined.

After resting a bit, Fang Bai stood the shaft upright on a wooden crate, wedged an iron block against the bearing's inner ring, oiled the shaft, and gave it a couple of test strikes. The bearing didn't budge.

At that point, he didn't dare hit it again.

"Looks like I can't do this without the right tool. I'll have to pay a professional to take it apart and reassemble it tomorrow." Fang Bai had only seen others do this before—he'd never actually done it himself. He hadn't expected it to be trickier than he'd imagined.

His brain knew the steps, but his hands didn't. Awkward.

He couldn't finish it today, so he just washed the grease off his hands and went to a nearby convenience store to buy some daily necessities and kitchenware.

The rental didn't have a water heater, not even a gas stove. If he wanted hot water, he'd have to boil it over a wood fire. There was no way he'd manage hot water tonight, so he'd have to take a cold shower. Luckily, the weather was only slightly chilly.

He ate dinner out, came back, and while his body was still warm, took a cold shower.

After the shower, he sat under the lamp and wrote out a study plan, then switched into study mode.

School had already been in session for a month. Fang Bai was only a month behind those repeating students, but during the day he had to hustle for money. If he didn't make good use of his nights, even with his Golden Finger, getting into a good university next year would be way too hard. His current score was still over a hundred points short of the bottom-tier Project 985 universities from his past life.

Given his score range, a year of repeating might get him a 40- to 80-point boost at best.

Without the Golden Finger, dreaming of a hundred-point improvement was just wishful thinking.

He studied until nearly midnight, only stopping when he got drowsy.

Before sleeping, he reviewed the knowledge points he'd memorized that day. Finding he could still recall them, Fang Bai felt a bit more confident about the college entrance exam.